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Lessons From New Zealand’s MMP For Indian Electoral Reforms

In the face of evolving political landscapes and dynamic citizen preferences, democracies worldwide are exploring ways to enhance voter representation and choice. This editorial analysis explores the potential benefits of a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system, as exemplified in New Zealand, and the potential implications of implementing such a system in the Indian electoral framework.

New Zealand’s Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) System

  • New Zealand’s Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system divides 120 Parliament seats into 72 electorate seats and 48 list seats.
  • Parties submit a ranked list of candidates to the Electoral Commission of New Zealand.
  • List MPs are elected from this list.
  • The electorate vote doesn’t influence the overall party representation in Parliament.
  • Voters have the ability to split their vote or give a ‘double tick’ to one party.
  • If a voter doesn’t favour their preferred party’s local candidate, they can choose a different party’s candidate.
  • Local electorate’s vote does not affect their preferred party’s final seat count in Parliament.
  • The 2020 Auckland Central parliamentary election saw voters elect Green Party’s Chloe Swarbrick as their local MP, despite the Labour Party being the preferred party.
  • Split voting is becoming increasingly popular, with 31.86% of votes in 2020 being split votes, up from 27.33% in 2017.
  • Eight out of 72 electorate seats created ‘switch seats’, where the local MP comes from a party that didn’t secure the majority of party votes.
  • The most recent parliamentary election in Auckland Central again showed a split voting pattern.

Advantages Of The MMP System

While the MMP system does face criticism, such as the potential for tactical voting, where voters may support a party they don’t fully endorse to prevent another party from gaining power, the advantages appear to outweigh these drawbacks.

  • Localized Accountability Advantage: MMP promotes localized accountability for elected representatives. They cannot simply rely on party popularity.
  • Policy Focus: Parties under MMP can focus on policy and ideology rather than individual candidate’s winnability. This strategy attracts party votes.
  • Improved Representation: MMP has increased representation, especially for women, indigenous communities, differently-abled individuals, and other marginalized groups. Before MMP, only 21% of New Zealand’s representatives were women in 1993. Now, it’s 51%. Representation for Maori has also improved.
  • Democracy Enhancement: MMP allows voters to voice various political preferences without wasting votes. All party votes count in determining a party’s seats.
  • Voting Flexibility: MMP offers flexibility, enabling voters to choose the best candidate-party combination according to their beliefs. The selection of party and candidate does not affect each other.
  • Lowered Average Age of MPs: After implementing MMP, the average age of MP’s in New Zealand has decreased significantly. The average age was 47.3 years in the 2020 elections. The lower entry barrier for young politicians under MMP has made this possible.

Should India Adopt Split Voting?

The current system in India sometimes forces voters to hold back their true preferences. Fear of political backlash can discourage voters from supporting candidates outside their preferred party or those seen as unlikely to win.

Split voting could provide a solution, allowing voters to select candidates based on merit alone. This system ensures the voter’s party preference still influences the legislative composition.

  • Democracy and Choice: True democracy provides nuanced, and potentially, diverse options. Distinguishing between a candidate and their party signifies a mature democracy.
  • Split Voting: Reflecting Modern Political Behavior: Historically, Indian voters may have been reluctant to split vote. However, modern political behavior may be increasingly open to this approach.

Source: This editorial analysis is based on the article “A leaf out of New Zealand’s voting system” (The Hindu, November 6, 2023)

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